gigantismn.
/ˈdʒʌɪɡantɪz(ə)m/ Biology.
Abnormal or monstrous size. spec. (a) (in humans) excessive size due to an increase in the supply of growth hormone caused by overactivity of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland; (b) (in plants) excessive size due to polyploidy. Also figurative. Cf. giantism n.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > deformity > [noun] > gigantism or pleonasm
pleonasm1858
gigantism1885
the world > plants > appearance of plant > defined by size or stature > [noun] > gigantism
gigantism1885
1885 in New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon
1899 Q. Rev. 190 279 Disease may..lead to..acromegaly, or gigantism.
1927 Bot. Gaz. 84 iii. 314 An aberrant form of Potentilla anserina was characterized by gigantism, sterile pollen, and lack of fruit formation.
1932 C. D. Darlington Chromosomes & Plant-breeding xi. 57 Gigantism is a normal and perhaps universal property of those tetraploids which can be compared directly with the diploids from which they have arisen.
1932 J. S. Huxley Probl. Relative Growth v. iv. 130 Some cases of dwarfing gigantism.
1932 J. S. Huxley Probl. Relative Growth v. iv. 131 Simple pituitary gigantism is associated with relatively long limbs.
1944 Science 16 June 481/1 In the case of Gigantopithecus the gigantism reaches a new climax.
1953 Encounter Nov. 9/1 The prosperous gigantism of the Japanese papers is based..on the high..literacy rate of the population.
1965 C. D. Darlington Cytol. i. vi. 222 Simple doubling [of chromosomes]..is usually accompanied by more or less gigantism.
1970 R. Gorer Devel. Garden Flowers ii. 42 Gigantism is one of the commonest phenomena in cultivated plants.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1885